ILO / FUTURE OF WORK REPORT

Preview Language: Original

22-Jan-2019
00:03:11

A Universal Labour Guarantee, social protection from birth to old age and an entitlement to lifelong learning are among ten recommendations made in a landmark report by the International Labour Organization’s Global Commission on the Future of Work. ILO

1. Pan left, presser
2. Various shots, report
3. Various shots, presser
4. SOUNDBITE (English) Cyril Ramaphosa, President of South Africa:
“Inequality is rising, unemployment and working poverty traps hundreds of millions of people around the world, in short the future of our societies depends on how we deal with the challenges and opportunities related to the world of work. We need to re-orient policies as well as actions to deliver a human-centered agenda, which is what this report basically focuses on. This means placing people at the centre and at the heart of the economic and social policy and business practices.”
5. Cutaway, report
6. SOUNDBITE (English) Cyril Ramaphosa, President of South Africa:
“The Global Commission’s report proposes ten recommendations which are essentially grouped around three pillars: these being firstly investing in the capabilities of people, secondly investing in the institutions of the world of work, and thirdly investing in decent and sustainable work.”
7. Cutaway, report
8. SOUNDBITE (English) Guy Ryder, Director-General, ILO:
“We have the ambition of making this report a catalyst not just for reflection but for action; for policy action that will make the world of work human-centric again – we think that is something which has been somewhat lost in recent years – and in so doing make not only the world of work a fairer place, a better place to be, a better place to work, a sustainable place to work, but also make our societies fairer and in so doing more stable.”
9. Cutaway, report
10. SOUNDBITE (English) Guy Ryder, Director-General, ILO:
“The number of jobs, the future of employment, is not going to be determined alone by the autonomous forward march of technology and technologies. It depends on policy. It depends on the choices to be made by policymakers. And it is perfectly possible, with the application of exactly the same technologies, to create what we would regard as very positive, socially positive, employment-rich solutions.”
11. Cutaway, report
12. SOUNDBITE (English) Guy Ryder, Director-General, ILO:
“The bottom line of our report in many respects is a re-invigoration of the social contract and this is the interaction and cooperation of governments, with the representatives of employers, and the representatives of workers, to actually channel the types of dialogue, which I think people who want their voices to be heard, are looking for.”
13. Various shots, report

STORYLINE:

A Universal Labour Guarantee, social protection from birth to old age and an entitlement to lifelong learning are among ten recommendations made in a landmark report by the International Labour Organization’s Global Commission on the Future of Work.

The ILO Global Commission on the Future of Work has called on governments to commit to a set of measures in order to address the challenges caused by unprecedented transformational change in the world of work.

Co-chaired by South African President Cyril Ramaphosa and Swedish Prime Minister, Stefan Löfven, the commission outlined a vision for a human-centered agenda that is based on investing in people’s capabilities, institutions of work and in decent and sustainable work.

Launching the report at a press conference in Geneva Tuesday (22 Jan), South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said “inequality is rising, unemployment and working poverty traps hundreds of millions of people around the world, in short the future of our societies depends on how we deal with the challenges and opportunities related to the world of work ” adding that “we need to re-orient policies as well as actions to deliver a human-centered agenda, which is what this report basically focuses on. This means placing people at the centre and at the heart of the economic and social policy and business practices.”

Also speaking at the press conference, ILO’s Director-General Guy Ryder said “we have the ambition of making this report a catalyst not just for reflection but for action; for policy action that will make the world of work human-centric again – we think that is something which has been somewhat lost in recent years – and in so doing make not only the world of work a fairer place, a better place to be, a better place to work, a sustainable place to work, but also make our societies fairer and in so doing more stable.”

Ryder also said “the number of jobs, the future of employment, is not going to be determined alone by the autonomous forward march of technology and technologies. It depends on policy. It depends on the choices to be made by policymakers. And it is perfectly possible, with the application of exactly the same technologies, to create what we would regard as very positive, socially positive, employment-rich solutions.”

Among the ten recommendations are:

• A universal labour guarantee that protects fundamental workers’ rights, an adequate living wage, limits on hours of work and safe and healthy workplaces.
• Guaranteed social protection from birth to old age that supports people’s needs over the life cycle.
• A universal entitlement to lifelong learning that enables people to skill, reskill and upskill.
• Managing technological change to boost decent work, including an international governance system for digital labour platforms.
• Greater investments in the care, green and rural economies.
• A transformative and measurable agenda for gender equality.
• Reshaping business incentives to encourage long-term investments.

"Countless opportunities lie ahead to improve the quality of working lives, expand choice, close the gender gap, reverse the damages wreaked by global inequality. Yet none of this will happen by itself. Without decisive action we will be sleepwalking into a world that widens existing inequalities and uncertainties," the report stresses.

It outlines the challenges caused by new technology, climate change and demography and calls for a collective global response to the disruptions they are causing in the world of work.

Artificial intelligence, automation and robotics will lead to job losses, as skills become obsolete. However, these same technological advances, along with the greening of economies will also create millions of jobs – if new opportunities are seized.

SOUNDBITE (English) Guy Ryder, Director-General, ILO:
“The bottom line of our report in many respects is a re-invigoration of the social contract and this is the interaction and cooperation of governments, with the representatives of employers, and the representatives of workers, to actually channel the types of dialogue, which I think people who want their voices to be heard, are looking for.”

The report is the culmination of a 15-month examination by the 27-member commission, which is made up of leading figures from business and labour, think tanks, academia, government and non-governmental organizations.

The report also highlights the ‘unique role’ the ILO should play in the development and delivery of the ‘human-centred economic agenda’ in the international system and calls on the organization to give urgent attention to the implementation of the report’s recommendations.